Mountain Partnership: Magnitudes of people are affected directly and indirectly by changes in mountain environments, not just in high altitude villages (the so-called highlands) but also in cities and populations (lowlands) dependent on the wealth of goods and services that mountains provide. In this context, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat has organized three regional meetings in Latin America (Chile), Central Asia (Tajikistan) and Africa (Uganda) with support of the World Bank Development Grant Facility.
Held in the framework of the “Strategic initiative for Climate Change impacts, adaptation and development in mountain regions“, each regional meeting has brought together government delegates, journalists, policy makers, scientists and climate change experts.
This issue of “Peak to Peak” shows how, together, participants in each meeting have strengthened their knowledge of climate change impacts in mountain areas, not only through presentations and discussions but also as a result of visiting field project sites. While participants in the meeting in Santiago and Dushanbe have also come up with recommendations and concrete actions in response to the challenges posed by climate change, the meeting in Uganda has set in motion the development of an enhanced mountain agenda for Africa. This result has been attained working together with our partners, namely the Government of Chile (Latin America), the University of Central Asia (Central Asia) and the United Nations Environment Programme (Africa).
Together, we ensure that mountains continue to stand tall, taller than climate change.
Adaptation to climate change in mountain regions: an urgent challenge for development : Santiago de Chile
“Climate change in mountain regions is leading to the emigration of inhabitants and unsustainable land-use practices, resulting in growing food
insecurity, desertification and the loss of biodiversity,” stated Hivy Ortiz, FAO Forestry Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean.
However, there is still very little awareness worldwide of the impact resulting from climate change in mountain regions, and the information
that is available tends to focus on retreating glaciers. In order to contribute to policy debates regarding adaptation to climate change, the Mountain Partnership, in collaboration with Chile’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, organized a meeting of experts from various Latin-American countries to improve knowledge about these issues and boost support.
“Adaptation to climate change in mountains requires a political commitment, and this should be reflected in greater investment, to the direct benefit of poor communities in these zones,” added Olman Serrano, Mountain Partnership Coordinator. The experts defined the creation
and boosting of forums for exchanges on technical and policy issues as a fundamental necessity for sustainable development in mountain areas. In addition, they considered it important to continue institution-building in the region’s countries on matters relating to mountains.They also stressed the need for studies of economic optimization and ecosystem services, and the promotion of research into various issues associated with mountains.
The participants urged the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the governments of the region to promote the creation of national, regional
and international forums for discussion among public policy, technical and scientific decision makers, including the creation and boosting of national mountain committees. They also called for the creation of specific financing windows in multilateral funds for activities dealing with the environment and climate change and projects connected with mountains.
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